Religious Affiliation, Religious Service Attendance, and Mortality. 2015

Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
Department of Sociology, Sungkyunkwan University, 25-2 Sungkyunkwan-ro, Jongno-gu, Faculty Hall, #513, Seoul, 110-745, Korea. jbk7000@skku.edu.

Very few studies have examined the effects of both religious affiliation and religiosity on mortality at the same time, and studies employing multiple dimensions of religiosity other than religious attendance are rare. Using the newly created General Social Survey-National Death Index data, our report contributes to the religion and mortality literature by examining religious affiliation and religiosity at the same time. Compared to Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and other religious groups have lower risk of death, but Black Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, and even those with no religious affiliation are not different from Mainline Protestants. While our study is consistent with previous findings that religious attendance leads to a reduction in mortality, we did not find other religious measures, such as strength of religious affiliation, frequency of praying, belief in an afterlife, and belief in God to be associated with mortality. We also find interaction effects between religious affiliation and attendance. The lowest mortality of Jews and other religious groups is more apparent for those with lower religious attendance. Thus, our result may emphasize the need for other research to focus on the effects of religious group and religious attendance on mortality at the same time.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007585 Jews An ethnic group with historical ties to the land of ISRAEL and the religion of JUDAISM. Jew
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009026 Mortality All deaths reported in a given population. CFR Case Fatality Rate,Crude Death Rate,Crude Mortality Rate,Death Rate,Age Specific Death Rate,Age-Specific Death Rate,Case Fatality Rate,Decline, Mortality,Determinants, Mortality,Differential Mortality,Excess Mortality,Mortality Decline,Mortality Determinants,Mortality Rate,Mortality, Differential,Mortality, Excess,Age-Specific Death Rates,Case Fatality Rates,Crude Death Rates,Crude Mortality Rates,Death Rate, Age-Specific,Death Rate, Crude,Death Rates,Determinant, Mortality,Differential Mortalities,Excess Mortalities,Mortalities,Mortality Declines,Mortality Determinant,Mortality Rate, Crude,Mortality Rates,Rate, Age-Specific Death,Rate, Case Fatality,Rate, Crude Death,Rate, Crude Mortality,Rate, Death,Rate, Mortality,Rates, Case Fatality
D012067 Religion A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.) Prayer,Religious Beliefs,Religious Ethics,Beliefs, Religious,Ethic, Religious,Prayers,Religions,Religious Belief
D001741 Black or African American A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies. African American,African Americans,African-American,Afro-American,Afro-Americans,Black Americans,Blacks,Negroes,African-Americans,Negro,Afro American,Afro Americans,American, African,American, Black,Black American
D002410 Catholicism The Christian faith, practice, or system of the Catholic Church, specifically the Roman Catholic, the Christian church that is characterized by a hierarchic structure of bishops and priests in which doctrinal and disciplinary authority are dependent upon apostolic succession, with the pope as head of the episcopal college. (From Webster, 3d ed; American Heritage Dictionary, 2d college ed) Roman Catholic Ethics,Roman Catholicism,Roman Catholics,Catholic, Roman,Catholicism, Roman,Catholics, Roman,Ethic, Roman Catholic,Ethics, Roman Catholic,Roman Catholic,Roman Catholic Ethic
D002835 Christianity The religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus Christ: the religion that believes in God as the Father Almighty who works redemptively through the Holy Spirit for men's salvation and that affirms Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior who proclaimed to man the gospel of salvation. (From Webster, 3d ed) Stigmata,Christian Ethics,Christian Ethic,Ethic, Christian,Ethics, Christian
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

Related Publications

Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
December 2010, Journal for the scientific study of religion,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
October 1998, Southern medical journal,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
January 2022, PloS one,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
June 2016, JAMA internal medicine,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
January 2019, American journal of epidemiology,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
February 2017, JAMA psychiatry,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
November 2017, Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
February 2017, JAMA psychiatry,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
May 2013, Journal of biosocial science,
Jibum Kim, and Tom W Smith, and Jeong-han Kang
June 2010, Psychological reports,
Copied contents to your clipboard!